


Together, where no one has gone before.

by ChaskaQuntur



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Deep Space Nine - Freeform, Drabble Collection, F/M, Fanfiction, International Fan Works Day 2020, Star Trek - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:09:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22383859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChaskaQuntur/pseuds/ChaskaQuntur
Summary: Garak comes across fanfiction to find out that another character in the fanfiction world of Deep Space Nine is quite popular. And this newly found genre does not only write about them but also predicts, announces, and fixes their present reality.This is a drabble that responds to the challenge #IFDrabble 2020, International Fan Works Day 2020.
Relationships: Elim Garak/Odo, Kira Nerys & Odo, Kira Nerys/Odo
Comments: 4
Kudos: 13
Collections: Deep Space Nine Fanworks Collection





	Together, where no one has gone before.

Bored once again with the claustrophobic feeling of being trapped in the Federation/Bajoran station, the Cardassian tailor started to look into Earth archives of a genre known by Terrans as fanfiction. Apparently, centuries of rampant advanced technologies did nothing else but to free more time to read and write about what humans and other species read to fix what the writer didn't get right... according to those called fans.  
  
—Quite opinionated the Terran readers. In Cardassian literature, something like this would be completely inadmissible—Garak said to himself.  
The former spy _*was he really "former" spy?*_ was absorbed with his findings when he heard a rustle followed by a raspy voice.   
—What are you doing, Garak?—said the figure that took shape in front of the tailor at the same time that his arms crossed on his chest.   
—Constable! What a pleasant surprise. To what occasion do I owe the honor of having you in my shop in these early hours?  
—Got tired of waiting for you and came to see if you were around—Odo said in a very matter-of-fact tone.  
—I see...—answered Garak a bit confused. Had he forgotten something? The Changeling noticed the question mark in the tailor's face and added:  
—Breakfast, remember? We have breakfast every Thursday. I was waiting for you at the Replimat. You are usually punctual, but not today.  
—Oh yes, Constable. I am sorry, it seems that I got so distracted that I forgot completely about our breakfast date.  
—I wouldn't call it a date, Garak. It's rather part of our routine now.  
—Of course, Odo, you are right. Let me put these files in order and I'll join you at the Replimat in say ... five minutes?  
—It will be a short breakfast. I must start my first patrol promptly at the hour, and we have less than 30 minutes now.  
The Chief of Security was certainly annoyed at the tailor's disruption of his routine but he enjoyed the conversation with him, especially when they engaged in the discussion of detective novels from Cardassian literature as well as from other planets over breakfast. He couldn't care less for food since he didn't consume any but he got used to having a challenging conversation with someone so uniquely intelligent as the former member of the Obsidian Order. That's when he noticed several windows displayed on the tailor's computer. What was so important to alter their routine breakfast? The Changeling approached the desk station with a grin of curiosity on his face.  
—Are you working on something? You have many windows open at once.  
—Yes, Constable, these are archives of fanfiction, from Earth to be more exact.   
—Fanfiction?   
—Yes, a sort of literary genre, although I am not completely certain about its literary quality, fans insist on fixing the stories of a published author.   
—You are saying that, for example, some reader challenges the stories of M.C. Hammer? Huh ... that sounds like fiction of fiction in itself—Odo chuckled and shook his head.  
—I am afraid that it is more prevalent than you or I could imagine, Constable. Apparently, humans were very fond of this sort of writing sport.   
—Have you found something worth reading?  
—I am into that right now. But there are so many stories, so many fandoms ...  
—Fandoms?  
—Yes, domains of fanfiction. Like for example, M.C. Hammer's novels and characters would be part of a fandom.   
  
Both men stood silently in front of the screen while the tailor kept playing with different options to look for information about fanfiction. By now, breakfast was a matter of the past and Odo's patrol was on the line to be postponed unless he would seek a replacement soon.   
—Fascinating ...—the Cardassian exclaimed all of a sudden.  
—What is?—Odo asked.  
At that moment, the Chief's comm badge beeped:  
—Deputy Indar to Chief Odo.  
—Odo here, what do you need?  
—The first patrol is about to start, sir. Shall we begin without you?  
—Yes, Indar. I am busy now, go ahead and start. Report to me in one hour.   
—Yes sir, Indar out.  
The Changeling brought his attention back to the computer screens:  
—You were saying, Garak … what is so fascinating?   
—There is a fanfiction about Bajor, and the wormhole, and, and... Deep Space Nine!  
—What? How is that possible? That's over three hundred years in the past.   
—Yes, I know. I can't explain it, I just see what the records are showing. Oh my, oh my...—the Cardassian sighed.  
—What is it this time?  
—There are stories written about someone like me and others like you, Major Kira, Doctor Bashir...  
—You are lying, Garak. That cannot be. How could humans of the twenty-first century write about planets and life forms that they didn't know about?  
—Imagination, Constable, is a powerful force. Don't underestimate it—the tailor smiled—since I found the search function, let's look for writings about us, shall we?  
—I don't see why not—the Changeling answered dryly but interested.   
—Here, more than 300 stories in which you and/or I appear or are named alongside the names of some of our peers of Deep Space Nine.   
—Do they include Major Kira?  
—Many of them do, I mean, many of those that write about you.  
—Can you download them to a PADD?  
—That's what I intend to do right now, Constable. If I may suggest, it would be a good idea that you let your deputies know that their reports will be delayed for some time.   
  
The Chief of Security found Garak's suggestion sound and informed his men that he would be busy with unexpected duties all morning. After all, satisfying a Changeling's curiosity was a strategic priority, more so if he was working with a former member of the Obsidian Order.   
Once the tailor and the shapeshifter had downloaded a good number of stories called fanfiction, they had to sort them out. They made two piles, one with Odo's stories and another one with Garak's stories. The result was interesting for both. There were at least twice as many stories featuring the Changeling.   
—It's all because you are an enigmatic species, Odo—said Garak trying to find an explanation that didn't convince him much. To his dismay, the Changeling didn't contradict him:  
—If you say so. Now, what do they write about?  
—About you? Let me see: Odo/Kira Nerys, Odo/Quark, Odo/Great Link  
—Social relations, that's what interests humans the most—Odo said sarcastically.  
—I must agree with you, Constable, that seems to be the case. How predictable. But, it's not only social relations. It's actually love-relations.  
—Love-relations? What do you mean by love-relations?  
—Isn't the case that you and Quark have a sort of bromance? That you and the Great Link miss each other terribly? And that you have been in love with Major Kira probably since the first time you saw her in Terok Nor?  
—How dare you to say that, Garak? I owe you no answer.  
—Don't answer me, Odo, answer yourself. Or better, read it here.  
A mortified Odo walked towards the door when Garak stopped him:  
—Chief, I understand that you may feel a bit ... uncomfortable if not overwhelmed with all these files, but the truth is that they exist and in a way they are yours.  
—What do you mean?  
—That they exist because you exist, you and your love for ...  
—Don't ever say it. No one knows.  
—No one?  
Odo looked at the floor and sighed while his hands were clasped on his back.   
—I must resume my duties, Garak. I want to ask you something.  
—I listen.  
—Not a word to anyone about this fanfiction.  
—Not a word, promised. With one condition, Constable.  
—What condition?  
—Take them—the tailor said while he extended three PADDs with downloaded Odo's fanfiction—these belong to you, read them.  
The Changeling hesitated and, after a few seconds, took the PADDs and gave a stern look at the Cardassian:  
—Not a word, Garak.  
—Not a word, Constable. Although, I don't think that a word of mine would do anything to be perfectly honest with you.  
—What do you imply?  
—You don't need to worry about me, rather about yourself.  
—Myself?  
—Yes, yourself. Even if nothing of what we found today would be mentioned anywhere in the station, the truth is that your story is written all over the walls, over your face, over your body even when you regenerate.   
—You don't know what you are talking about, Garak. Remember, not a word.  
—As you say. I will be as mute as the statue of the Rhodes passage in the Rakantha province.   
—You have never been to the Rakantha province in Bajor.  
—And that’s the reason why I’ll be more silent than the statue, Constable.  
  
Once in his quarters at the end of a long day, the Chief of Security started reading the fanfiction that the Cardassian former spy had collected from the Terran archives. He read one story, and a second one, and a third one. At the end of the third one, he shut down the PADD and reclined his head to imagine all the scenes depicted in them about him and Kira. With a smile on his face, the Changeling of Deep Space Nine let himself dissolve into his gelatinous state while thinking how far from the truth the fanfiction writers were: he and Kira ending up together and professing their love for each other; he and Kira making love in passionate ways and unexpected places that would make Risa look like a children's playground; Kira being turned into a Changeling to be with him together forever, and the impossible: having children thanks to the imaginative intelligence of Doctor Bashir and his abilities with genetics to procure interspecies mating going bold. Odo and Kira were together in the imagination of Terran fanfiction, together, where no one has gone before. 


End file.
